Internal combustion engines require lubricating systems to lubricate moving parts and to remove heat. In large internal combustion engines for use in heavy duty machines and vehicles, an oil pump advances oil through the oil pump assembly components (such as an oil filter, oil filter base, and oil cooler) and distributes oil throughout the engine.
Heavy duty engines, such as truck engines, can experience low oil pressure conditions, especially later in service life. This low pressure is the result of the lubrication system lacking the capacity to absorb increased oil flow demands created by normal engine wear over the life of the engine. Such low pressure conditions, however, can negatively impact engine wear, engine cooling capacity, and overall engine performance. Consequently, engines experiencing low pressure conditions are often extensively refurbished, such as by replacing the engine block and/or crankshaft, at great expense.
While a larger capacity oil pump may be considered as a cheaper alternative to extensive refurbishment of the engine, this approach is made more difficult in a retrofit application, where a limited space is provided for the oil pump. In such applications, there may be critical dimensions that must be met so that the replacement pump will properly fit with the other engine components. These size limitations prevent the ability to simply increase the overall physical size of the oil pump, thereby making increased oil pump capacity difficult to obtain.